GB2042415A - Agricultural baler - Google Patents

Abstract

A baler for harvested agricultural material, comprising a baling chamber bounded by partly movable side walls 7, 7', with a feed aperture located at the front end in the base of the baling chamber; means 2 for picking up hay or similar harvested material from the ground when the baler moves forward and guiding the material picked up to a feed passage 3 communicating with the feed aperture; and compressing tines 4 which each convey a portion of the material picked up from the feed passage, through the feed aperture into the baling chamber, and means for tying the resultant bale while still in the baling chamber; wherein the base 9 of the bale chamber is fixed to a front part of the baler so that it can pivot about a horizontal axis 8, and the two side walls 7, 7' of the bale chamber are fixed to the front portion so that they can each pivot about a vertical axis 6, wherein cable guides 15, 16, 17 are provided both at the side walls 7, 7' and at the non-pivotable top wall of the bale chamber, and wherein cables 10, 11 guide thereby are connected to the pivotable base 9 and to a hydraulic piston- cylinder unit 14 arranged on the top wall of the bale chamber. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Agricultural baler This invention relates to agricultural balers, particularly balers for harvested agricultural material, for example large bale balers, comprising a baling chamber bounded by partly movable side walls, with a feed aperture located at the front end in the base of the baling chamber and extending substantially over the whole width of the said chamber; means for picking up hay or similar harvested material from the ground when the baler moves forward and guiding the material picked up to a feed passage communicating with the feed aperture: and compressing tines which each convey a portion of the material picked up from the feed passage, through the feed aperture into the baling chamber, and means for tying the resultant bale while still in the baling chamber.

Balers of the above type have been proposed, wherein three side walls are pivotable to a greater or less degree by hydraulic pistoncylinder units, each interacting with an elbow lever or bell crank, in order to slow down the movement of the material conveyed into the baler, with a view to producing a bale which is as firm as possible in itself. The disadvantage of such displacement of the side walls is that the use of hydraulic piston-cylinder units and the associated elbow levers and the mounting thereof results in a costly construction using a great deal of material. Another drawback is that all the piston rods in the extended state are exposed to the rough harvesting conditions without any protection at all, and the seals in particular are therefore damaged by foreign bodies adhering to the piston rods.

A further disadvantage of this baler, where the two side walls and the upper roof cover are pivotable, is that when the loading process is interrupted, e.g. when darkness fails, the weight of the upper roof cover rests on the bale and the cover sticks to the bale, particularly when the interruption lasts several days.

Hay loaders have also been proposed where the roof and side portions fixed thereto can be pressed down by means of a cable line.

Insufficient pressure is applied to the bale in this case, so that a bale formed in this way maintains a strong expansion force and can easily fall apart, particularly if not tied.

It was therefore desirable to design a baler which will satisfactorily fulfil the requirements made of it, particularly in respect of simple and robust construction and fault-free operation.

According to the invention, there is provided a baler for harvested agricultural material, comprising a baling chamber bounded by partly movable side walls, with a feed aperture located at the front end in the base of the baling chamber and extending substantially over the whole width of the said chamber; means for picking up hay or similar harvested material from the ground when the baler moves forward and guiding the material picked up to a feed passage communicating with the feed aperture; and compressing tines which each convey a portion of the material picked up from the feed passage, through the feed aperture into the baling chamber, and means for tying the resultant bale while still in the baling chamber; wherein the base of the bale chamber is fixed to a front part of the baler so that it can pivot about a horizontal axis, and the two side walls of the bale chamber are fixed to the same front portion so that they can each pivot about a vertical axis, wherein cable guides are provided both at the side walls and at the non-pivotable top wall of the bale chamber, and wherein cables guided thereby are connected to the pivotable base and to a hydraulic piston-cylinder unit arranged on the top wall of the bale chamber.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a baler according to the invention and Figure 2 shows the arrangement of the cable line indicated in Fig. 1.

Reference 1 denotes a baler for making large bales. The front end of the baler has a feed means, known per se and comprising a drum 2 with tines, a feed passage 3 and compressing tines 4, which successively convey into the baling chamber of the baler the material picked up from the field while the baler moves forward. The baling chamber itself is bounded by an upper roof cover 5, two side walls 7 and 7' mounted to pivot about a vertical axis 6, and a base 9 mounted to pivot about a horizontal axis 8. Two cables 10 and 11 are fixed to the rear portion of the base 9. The cable 10 is attached at its other end to the cylinder 1 2 and the cable 11 to the piston rod 1 3. The piston-cylinder unit 14 comprising the cylinder 1 2 and piston rod 1 3 is here fixed to the upper roof cover 5. The cables 10 and 11 themselves are carried over rollers 15, 1 6 and 1 7 constructed as cable guides. As will be seen from Fig. 2, the rollers 1 5 are attached to the side wall 7, the rollers 1 6 to the side wall 7' and the rollers 1 7 to the roof cover 5. Since the cables run over the rollers 1 5 and 1 6 of the movable side walls 7 and 7', the side walls as well as the base are pressed against the bale 18, and the cylinder 1 2 is impinged on by the horizontal components of the cable forces.

1. A baler for harvested agricultural material, comprising a baling chamber

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (2)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Agricultural baler This invention relates to agricultural balers, particularly balers for harvested agricultural material, for example large bale balers, comprising a baling chamber bounded by partly movable side walls, with a feed aperture located at the front end in the base of the baling chamber and extending substantially over the whole width of the said chamber; means for picking up hay or similar harvested material from the ground when the baler moves forward and guiding the material picked up to a feed passage communicating with the feed aperture: and compressing tines which each convey a portion of the material picked up from the feed passage, through the feed aperture into the baling chamber, and means for tying the resultant bale while still in the baling chamber. Balers of the above type have been proposed, wherein three side walls are pivotable to a greater or less degree by hydraulic pistoncylinder units, each interacting with an elbow lever or bell crank, in order to slow down the movement of the material conveyed into the baler, with a view to producing a bale which is as firm as possible in itself. The disadvantage of such displacement of the side walls is that the use of hydraulic piston-cylinder units and the associated elbow levers and the mounting thereof results in a costly construction using a great deal of material. Another drawback is that all the piston rods in the extended state are exposed to the rough harvesting conditions without any protection at all, and the seals in particular are therefore damaged by foreign bodies adhering to the piston rods. A further disadvantage of this baler, where the two side walls and the upper roof cover are pivotable, is that when the loading process is interrupted, e.g. when darkness fails, the weight of the upper roof cover rests on the bale and the cover sticks to the bale, particularly when the interruption lasts several days. Hay loaders have also been proposed where the roof and side portions fixed thereto can be pressed down by means of a cable line. Insufficient pressure is applied to the bale in this case, so that a bale formed in this way maintains a strong expansion force and can easily fall apart, particularly if not tied. It was therefore desirable to design a baler which will satisfactorily fulfil the requirements made of it, particularly in respect of simple and robust construction and fault-free operation. According to the invention, there is provided a baler for harvested agricultural material, comprising a baling chamber bounded by partly movable side walls, with a feed aperture located at the front end in the base of the baling chamber and extending substantially over the whole width of the said chamber; means for picking up hay or similar harvested material from the ground when the baler moves forward and guiding the material picked up to a feed passage communicating with the feed aperture; and compressing tines which each convey a portion of the material picked up from the feed passage, through the feed aperture into the baling chamber, and means for tying the resultant bale while still in the baling chamber; wherein the base of the bale chamber is fixed to a front part of the baler so that it can pivot about a horizontal axis, and the two side walls of the bale chamber are fixed to the same front portion so that they can each pivot about a vertical axis, wherein cable guides are provided both at the side walls and at the non-pivotable top wall of the bale chamber, and wherein cables guided thereby are connected to the pivotable base and to a hydraulic piston-cylinder unit arranged on the top wall of the bale chamber. An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a baler according to the invention and Figure 2 shows the arrangement of the cable line indicated in Fig. 1. Reference 1 denotes a baler for making large bales. The front end of the baler has a feed means, known per se and comprising a drum 2 with tines, a feed passage 3 and compressing tines 4, which successively convey into the baling chamber of the baler the material picked up from the field while the baler moves forward. The baling chamber itself is bounded by an upper roof cover 5, two side walls 7 and 7' mounted to pivot about a vertical axis 6, and a base 9 mounted to pivot about a horizontal axis 8. Two cables 10 and 11 are fixed to the rear portion of the base 9. The cable 10 is attached at its other end to the cylinder 1 2 and the cable 11 to the piston rod 1 3. The piston-cylinder unit 14 comprising the cylinder 1 2 and piston rod 1 3 is here fixed to the upper roof cover 5.The cables 10 and 11 themselves are carried over rollers 15, 1 6 and 1 7 constructed as cable guides. As will be seen from Fig. 2, the rollers 1 5 are attached to the side wall 7, the rollers 1 6 to the side wall 7' and the rollers 1 7 to the roof cover 5. Since the cables run over the rollers 1 5 and 1 6 of the movable side walls 7 and 7', the side walls as well as the base are pressed against the bale 18, and the cylinder 1 2 is impinged on by the horizontal components of the cable forces. CLAIMS

1. A baler for harvested agricultural material, comprising a baling chamber bounded by partly movable side walls, with a feed aperture located at the front end in the base of the baling chamber and extending substantially over the whole width of the said chamber; means for picking up hay or similar harvested material from the ground when the baler moves forward and guiding the material picked up to a feed passage communicating with the feed aperture; and compressing tines which each convey a portion of the material picked up from the feed passage, through the feed aperture into the baling chamber, and means or tying the resultant bale while still in the baling chamber; wherein the base of the bale chamber is fixed to a front part of the baler so that it can pivot about a horizontal axis, and the two side walls of the bale chamber are fixed to the front portion so that they can each pivot about a vertical axis, wherein cable guides are provided both at the side walls and at the non-pivotable top wall of the bale chamber, and wherein cables guided thereby are connected to the pivotable base and to a hydraulic piston-cylinder unit arranged on the top wall of the bale chamber.

2. A baler substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.